Category: Fiction

The Liturgical Mysteries by Mark Schweizer

The 1st Book in Mark Schweizer’s Liturgical Mystery series is The Alto Wore Tweed. This fun, quirky series is about a small town police chief, Kayden Konig, who doubles as the local church organist and choir master. Hayden has also managed to purchase Raymond Chandler’s ancient typewriter and – in between the sleuthing and musical episodes …

Peculiar Crimes Unit Mysteries by Christopher Fowler

Book 1 of the Peculiar Crimes Unit series, also known as the Bryant and May mysteries, is Full Dark House. The quirkiness starts in book 1 and continues through the entire series. Almost makes you Google to see if there really is a Peculiar Crimes Unit in London, England. I like reading this series in order …

Charlie Muffin Mysteries in Order

Here are the Charlie Muffin mysteries by Brian Freemantle listed in order. If you like British espionage books, I think you’ll enjoy the Charlie Muffin mysteries by Brian Freemantle. Many reviewers call Brian Freemantle one of the top espionage writers today… possibly one of the best of all time. Some say he’s on a par with …

Bangkok Mystery Series by John Burdett

John Burdett’s Bangkok Mystery Series – Featuring Royal Thai Police Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep   Sonchai Jitpleecheep is a police detective… a devout Buddhist and son of a Bangkok bar owner and an American G.I. In fact, Sonchai is regarded by all – including his fellow police officers – as the only honest policeman in Bangkok. Even …

Chief Inspector Gamache Novels in Order

Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache novels (Three Pines Mysteries) are best read in order This is one of my all-time favorite mystery series and a heartfelt entry on my Uncommonly Good Mysteries list. If you haven’t tried the Three Pines/Chief Inspector Armand Gamache detective fiction series yet, you’re in for a treat. The characters become old friends and …

Kate Shugak Novels by Dana Stabenow

Kate Shugak Novels by Dana Stabenow: Set in Alaska, this is an uncommonly good mystery series by an Edgar Award-winning author Dana Stabenow’s Kate Shugak novels feature well-developed, interesting characters, a locale known to few (an Alaskan national park) and lifestyles even fewer of us could handle. This is one of the handsdown best mystery series I’m …

Inspector Shan Series by Eliot Pattison

The Inspector Shan series begins with The Skull Mantra, which won Eliot Pattison the 2001 Edgar Award for Best First Novel In fact, it was The Skull Mantra that inspired my “Uncommonly Good Mysteries” list, which I first started in 2011.  I had just read Eliot Pattison’s newest book Ashes of the Earth: A Mystery of Post-Apocalyptic America …

Cold in the Earth by Aline Templeton

DI Marjory Fleming… a character I’ve learned to love Aline Templeton’s DI Marjory Fleming mystery series has been on my radar for four years, ever since one of my favorite mystery writers, Louise Penny, recommended it on her blog. Alas, my library didn’t carry the books, so I placed a sticky note in my “authors to …

The Long Way Home by Louise Penny

My review of The Long Way Home – Louise Penny’s 10th book in the Chief Inspector Gamache series Many readers of Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache/Three Pines books don’t know what to make of the newest installment in the series, The Long Way Home. Some found the conversations boring, others wondered where the action was, and quite …

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

An Engaging Book Club Pick – The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion Professor Don Tillman is not your average guy. He’s a genetics professor who has set himself a goal: he wants to get married. He’s almost 40 and, in his typically Aspergian way, has set up a very logical, methodical system for discovering the ideal wife. …